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Rubbernecking seems to be an American pastime. The Belmont County Rubberneck Tour has lot to see in a remote agricultural county. Quietly tucked away among the hills and valleys are many attractions. Barkcamp State Park for one, where natural campsites await with horses welcome. There a 4 miles of trails for hikers and events and educational times for city folk to enjoy. Barkcamp Lake is a very small peaceful lake with sailing, canoes, and small electric boats available for your pleasure. There is plenty of fishing for more peace and solace.
For more rubbernecking you may tour the 26 room Belmont County Victorian Mansion Museum where the decor is era exact. Oak was used throughout the home, with elegant fretwork of a winged griffin that was supposed to prevent bad luck.
And of course you don’t want to miss the Historic Stillwater Meeting House built in 1878 for the Ohio yearly Meeting of Conservative Friends. Once inside you will find the Quaker Heritage Museum. You must have an appointment to view the museum and learn more about the Quakers.
And you cannot miss Watt Center for History and the Arts. Originally this was the office building for Watt Car & Wheel Company started in 1865 as J. H. Watt and Brothers. Here you may learn about coal industry, business, and agriculture. There are six vintage vaults, Historic ceiling tile designs of tin, and the steam whistle signaling weather alarms for the area.
If you go in fall you can make the Pumpkin Festival in Barnesville, Ohio a quaint little city with the world largest pumpkins and sunflowers among hundreds of rare agricultural concessions. Every kind of pumpkin food you can imagine is served from the street vendors. The contests for everything from spitting tobacco, best fiddle players from everywhere will compete, the longest beards ever will be competing and the Pumpkin Festival Queen will make her appearances. Also in the fall one town over you could catch the Belmont County Fair where competitions of an agricultural nature are intense with the canned goods homegrown vegetables and all the nature you want to meet with farms animals of every kind housed in rows and rows of barns. Live Bands will perform and the demolition derby will be crashing. Everyday you can ride amusing rides with breaks for checking out the Scout project and art displays. Competitions are fierce and so varied your neck will turn to rubber. By the time you think you have tasted all the fries you can eat it’s time for the football game with the stadium built right there.
Visit during the Christmas season and you may see the Belmont City Victorian Mansion all decked out for Christmas where many a New Year’s Party was had in the ballroom.
By reservation only you may visit the 20 acre private park in the top of Zaleski State Forest where you may chose a cottage or camp old-fashioned is the right word for this local. Frequently used for weddings, vacations and camping.
Appalachian Ohio has Indian mounds and many attractions rural working farms, cattle and just nature wherever you look. Don’t miss the Putnam Underground Railroad Educational Center in town of Zanesville where all the prominent abolitionists lived especially the Hubbard House. And the new National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened in 2004 revealing the truth about the 100 champions of freedom and their courage, cooperation, and perseverance. In the 1800’s more than 100,000 enslaved folks were rescued.
Stepping back in time you can still catch a train on the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway with several special events. You may join the Murder Mystery Train event or the Musical Murder Mystery events oh so mysterious and fun.
There are at least thirty other events and they are too numerous to mention. Even the Quakers have their electricity on for their exclusive home cooking. Step back into time it has stood still literally in many corners of Ohio. Another must do although it is a bit of a drive is the “The Lights” . They can only be seen in Olgebay Park on top the hill of Wheeling West Virginia. A very special array of Christmas lights in the snow covered hill and golf courses of every Christmas theme and song you can remember. Somewhere nearly a million lights are put up and down for this events. Most beautiful and spectacular vision of wonder ever seen. No exaggerations here.

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How could I ever turn away and just think ‘It” was a myth? A legend of sorts with a long history of violence, infamy and absolute justice. After much reflection in the 90’s my realization came and ‘It’, in my life I had blamed all my choices on ‘It’ or others. Although, I did not know anything about ‘It”. I found it as convenient as all populations to blame events that were a disappointment to me on ‘It” or a him and others. Uninformed of that for every action there is a reaction, like providence. Some kind of destiny or divine intervention of consequences that I was not aware and totally uninformed, as an uninformed person I walked in the dark not forewarned existing in the dark. Supernaturally there was a destination fulfilling where I could find solace. And believe me I searched every darkness. There were a few folks out there in the dark that I could count on but they were far and few. I travelled the world looking for ‘It’ providence. At first I thought ‘It’ would be a great marriage and all party friends and we just thought we had ‘It’ all. And we did! Finding no solace neither fulfillment I still was crying out for twenty years. ‘It’ was missing and I was unfulfilled, and I even tried pets with no resolve. I went somewhere called a church and found myself crying for no apparent reason; I had everything I needed in life and was married again. Suddenly I found myself saying something, agreeing to what! I did not even know what was said. Why don’t they just speak in a vocabulary I understand? Then I moved about a month later and never met another person of faith and knowledge for two decades. The world was a really big place back then and my Isaiah experience from the wilderness would not present The Gift until I lived among a very peculiar people and no matter what horrible events presented they would smile, not be devastated and always knew how to recover rapidly. No computers, three channels on a tele and who had time for the news, where had I been in a cave. I don’t know why I am still here and many good and wonderful people I love are not and I am not that aged. The lack of knowledge can leave one in everlasting an appetite with suspended animation, in a hurried world without destinations but materialism, with no goals but the greed to perpetuate idolatry. Without purpose or vision there is no real tangible love just all the motions and counterfeits. Until you find “It” or ‘It’ finds you! Thank you, Janet wherever you are?